Upon meditating today I have began to realize how I am getting much better at being present. I used to attempt to settle in and just be every where in my mind. I would curse myself quietly, like “ c’mon Wonder get it together “, or “I can’t concentrate, I’ll do this later” then never come back. Now as I have started a new practice I can see the difference, it’s in the consistency. The daily act of meditation, the daily act of being present.
January was the month of no added sugar. I am pleased with the results, I can happily say that with moderation of natural occurring sugar, and the substitutions available, I am no longer living with the perils of that addiction. The addiction that our very own society has us wrapped up in , and entangled. Every advertisement, and NEW flavor is just a barrage of sugar fixes, and temporary cures for our brains. In the brain, too much sugar slows down both our cognitive skills and our self-control (sooo ....having the smallest amount of sugar makes us want more, Seymour).
Sugar is similar to any addictive substance like narcotics, barbiturates and stimulates. According to the article https://www.centersite.net/poc/view_doc.php?type=doc&id=48375&cn=1408, the mesolimbic pathway is an area called the ventral tegmental area (VTA), which ships it to the nucleus accumbens . The neurotransmitter most commonly linked with the mesolimbic system is dopamine. Dopamine is linked to sensitization of ventral striatal circuitry in humans which can lead to compulsive drug use.
Scientists argue that sugary, especially added sugars like HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) along with their fun time relatives salt and fat can create addiction-like effects in the human brain, driving loss of self-control, overeating, and ensuing weight gain.
I will tell you it can be difficult at times, but the difference is I am more mindful because I know how it feels to really crash now, and on the “being mindful” tip, I have began February with a whole new way to curb those thoughts and a stellar option for me to control myself.
Meditation.
People that meditate preach to it’s ability to cure all that ails. Increasing uplifting state of mind, and allowing the change that we want to be, become real. When I started my classes to become certified to teach yoga, I had the pleasure of hearing a man speak on this exact matter. Frank Jude Boccio, a personal teacher of mine wrote the book “Mindfulness Yoga: The Awakened Union of Breath, Body, and Mind” , This innovative book suggests an entirely new approach to yoga, Mindfulness Yoga, which flawlessly combines the Buddha's lessons on the Four Foundations of Mindfulness with traditional asana yoga practice. Learning from him got me started down a rabbit hole of educational experiences that have helped me get to where I am today. The oldest records of meditation date from approximately 1500 years BCE (Before Common Era). It had to have been an elemental part of the earliest forms of the Vedic, or early Hindu, schools in India.
Then, in the 6th to 4th centuries BCE, the Chinese Taoist and Indian Buddhist traditions started to develop styles of meditation practice. Further west, early forms of meditation practice were developed by such notable figures as Philo of Alexandria, the Desert Fathers of the Middle East, and Saint Augustine.
I started on the 1st of February. Not meditating, I started that years ago. I began a formal meditation practice. I am also changing my sleep habits to a more Ayurvedic system as well, I’ll talk more about that in another blog.
Upon waking , before anything else, I sit with myself and a cup of green tea, and ponder. (The English word “meditation” stems from meditatum, a Latin term meaning “to ponder.” ) I
take ten min, at first then another ten before I begin writing, and think of how I can have compassion, how I can be more operative of Loving kindness, which is one of the Four-Immeasurables of Buddhism. Then I go on with my day.
It has allowed me to be able to grasp not only my thoughts, but my feelings in a way that keeps me from reacting. This in turn has made it easier for me to adjust my thought patterns to be more positive and cultivate a lifestyle that is of my choosing and not just a pattern that I fall to because I have no other choice.
Be Well in all you find today.
♥️
-Wonder
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